Can you pierce the main drain when gardening?

boosh2000 · 27 Feb 2008

If digging just a foot - 18 inches down is it possible to put a garden fork through the main drain? And how would you know it had happened?

I was digging my front lawn and about 8" down pirced some yellow plastic with stones and stuff underneath. I haven't done much more investigation, but I would like to know if I might have put my fork through my main drain.

bobby spray · 27 Feb 2008

If digging just a foot - 18 inches down is it possible to put a garden fork through the main drain? And how would you know it had happened?

yes it is. And you'd know by looking

If it's plastic you can fix with a collar or maybe some denso tape. Whatever you do do not leave it. if it's breached, it can fill up with soil and block = headache.

JohnD · 27 Feb 2008

you say you pierced some yellow plastic with stones underneath

was it a pipe or a piece of plastic marker tape?

if it was yellow plastic pipe this is very serious as it sounds like gas pipe.

boosh2000 · 27 Feb 2008

It's definitely not gas (fortunately) because we don't have a gas supply in the village.

It was a flat yellow plastic sheet about a foot under where the lawn used to be and there seemed to be rubble underneath it (but the there's a lot of rubble in the ground anyway).

I suppose I'll have to dig around it and have a proper look.

If it's clay pipe I guess it would be a huge job.

nstreet · 27 Feb 2008

boosh2000 said:
If digging just a foot - 18 inches down is it possible to put a garden fork through the main drain? And how would you know it had happened?

I was digging my front lawn and about 8" down pirced some yellow plastic with stones and stuff underneath. I haven't done much more investigation, but I would like to know if I might have put my fork through my main drain.

If you have heavy clay soil it may be some sort of land drain going to a sump, but yellow pipe is normally reserved for gas.

If you have pierced black or brown pipe it could be for the soakaway from the gutters.

JohnD · 27 Feb 2008

broad yellow plastic tape is laid over buried pipes and cables as a marker warning people who are digging,

Assorted plastic and other rubbish is buried by builders as a way of annoying future homeowners.

It would be a great help if you showed us a pic.

Thermo · 27 Feb 2008

JohnD said:
Assorted plastic and other rubbish is buried by builders as a way of annoying future homeowners.

And to annoy landscapers! Dont forget brick bats, wall ties, wall insulation, tin cans etc etc

I doubt its a main drain. They will normally be deeper and if its near the surface, they tend to be encased with concrete (well older ones do). It is however perfectly possible to pierce them then, however you really need to do the job properly, as my apprentice did yeterday with a breaker, several times. Just after 8 in the morning, on a live run. I made him clear out all the debris, just as many people were getting sorted to go to work. I think he may think twice after that!

Softus · 27 Feb 2008

JohnD said:
It would be a great help if you showed us a pic.

Thermo · 27 Feb 2008

yes one of those will do the job nicely

noseall · 27 Feb 2008

ouch!

yellow plastic?

is it ribbed and perforated?

Thermo · 27 Feb 2008

Dont look at the picture Noseall......DONT LOOK!

noseall · 27 Feb 2008

i..i..feel...sick.

boosh2000 · 28 Feb 2008

JohnD said:
broad yellow plastic tape is laid over buried pipes and cables as a marker warning people who are digging,

Assorted plastic and other rubbish is buried by builders as a way of annoying future homeowners.

It would be a great help if you showed us a pic.

I've just dig it all to have a look and covered it up again.

I don't think I've damaged anything severely.

It is in a line from where the drainpipe drains and the pavement. The garden (and the house) is raised from the pavement by a couple of feet.

Halfway across the garden, about 10 or 12 feet from the house, about 10 inches down, there's yellow plastic sheet. Underneath the sheet is compacted rubble, but not compacted like a path - it has gaps between the stones. Looking underneath where I've put the hole in the sheet I don't seem to have particularly disturbed this rubble and the sheet stops about 8 inches on from where I'd started digging, continuing towards the house under earth I hadn't disturbed.

If you'd like a picture I can dig it up again and take on, but am I worrying about nothing?

I'll stress, the yellow plastic isn't a pipe, I'm just worrying that when I stuck my garden fork through it it was signifying not to dig past it.

Thanks for all the help everyone. I worry very easily.

noseall · 28 Feb 2008

you have discovered a storm drain and it leads to a classic soakaway.

boosh2000 · 28 Feb 2008

Phew! (Is that right?

)

So I've been worrying about nothing? I was beginning to think this might be a soak away because the soil pipe and other drains run away behind the row of houses (I know because I've had to blast them clear with a hose before now). I'd just managed to convince myself when I saw the plastic sheet and my garden fork sinking through, that I'd done something really stupid.

So glad that I'm in the clear and thanks so much for all your help everyone.

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Can you pierce the main drain when gardening?

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